


The World's Worst Vampire

by Roxiepluto



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Character Deaths, Even the digimon!, Everyone is a vampire!, F/M, Vampire Clans, Vampire Hunter, lots of mentions of blood, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-01-15 15:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12323949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxiepluto/pseuds/Roxiepluto
Summary: Joe is a terrible vampire; he faints at the sight of blood and can’t stand the thought of hurting anyone. His only friend is a bat named Gomamon but then one day he ends up saving another vampire named Mimi and gets dragged into a war between two vampire clans that has nothing to do with him. But alas, what can the world’s worst vampire do?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this back at the end of August and wrote the whole first draft but then got distracted by life, only to come back and see some official halloween art of Joe, Tai and Matt as vampires! I feel like people will think i got the idea from that now and am annoyed that i didn't get it all out before so i could look like i predicted the future :(  
> Ah well, thus is life.  
> I'm still slowly going through and re-writing the first draft but i wanted to put the first chapter out there for people to judge as they will.

“Joe, you are seriously the most pathetic vampire I’ve ever met,” chirped the small jet black bat that fluttered happily around Joe’s head as he vomited into a nearby bush. He laughed when Joe tried to respond only to throw up again, “Seriously Joe! In my two centuries I’ve never met another vampire who threw up drinking blood and I’ve met a lot!”

“And yet,” replied Joe once he’d managed to stop retching the bloody bile back up for long enough, “You’re still hanging around.”

“Well, duh! I thought I was bad enough for being cursed to live in bat form but you’re something else entirely. Seeing you being such a terrible vampire makes me feel better about myself,” he replied with such glee that Joe didn’t doubt the truth to Gomamon’s statement.

“Well, I guess I’m good for something at least,” replied Joe as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced away from the field of cows he’d been standing in only moments ago when he’d been sucking the blood out of one of the smaller animals. Just the thought of it made his nausea come back with a vengeance and he had to force himself to breathe evenly in an effort to get it to go away. Blood had made him sick ever since his first time drinking it, and although he tried to go as long as he could between sessions, his body still needed it. He was always able to absorb at least a little bit before the nausea got too much, even if most of it always came back up.

“Aww come on, don’t be mad. You know I think you’re a pretty cool guy really.” Gomamon stopped fluttering around in front of him and landed gently on Joe’s shoulder, his eye glinting in the moonlight, “No-one else would have put up with me for so long.”

Joe smiled at Gomamon and reached up to pat his head affectionately; unable to think of him as anything other than a loveable pet, despite the fact that he was a vampire prior to his curse. “Thanks, bud.”

“I’d say we’ve got at least a few more hours until sunrise,” said Gomamon, his head tilted up to look at the position of the moon, “So how about we have some fun?”

Joe’s feet began to follow the overgrown country path back towards the woods as he gave a small hum of amusement, “Surely seeing me puke is all the fun you need for an evening.”

Gomamon was silent for a moment before he squealed, “You made a joke! I’m so proud!”

Joe grinned, a little embarrassed at the pride that he could feel flowing off Gomamon in waves before his small companion began to babble away about the sorts of things he used to do back when he wasn’t cursed. Joe smiled, listening absentmindedly as he clambered over the fence at the edge of the land and quickly wandered under the cover of the thick oak trees. The shrubbery was thick in this part of the woods and he always had to concentrate on where he was going to be able to find the main pathway again. That may have gone some way to explain how he ended up sprawled on the floor when something caught his foot. He listened to Gomamon giggling from somewhere above him as he patted around to find his glasses. He didn’t need them to see; being a vampire had restored his vision after all, but they made him feel more human. He still needed to feel that.

“Wow Joe, you even trip over noth…” Joe frowned as he found his glasses and shoved them back onto his face to look up at Gomamon. He never stopped part way through a jab…

Gomamon was fluttering slowly in the air, his tiny features looking unbelievably down at the ground before he whispered, “Palmon…?”

Joe sat up and followed Gomamon’s line of sight to see that he hadn’t tripped over nothing after all; he’d tripped over a body. Joe’s eyes widened and he jumped up, fuelled purely on panic alone as he moved to be able to see the body better. It was a beautiful, lithe young woman with shocking light green hair with a pink flower pinned perfectly in it despite how she must have fallen. There were small scrapes on her knees and a few patches on her arm that almost looked like they had been burnt.

“Excuse me miss, are you alright?” he called out, trying to remember back to his first aid training from back before he’d become a vampire. He pulled a phone out of his pocket, ready to dial for an ambulance but Gomamon swooped down to land on his arm.

“Don’t bother; she’s a vampire so those guys can’t help,” he explained before he flew down again to land on Palmon’s delicate shoulder. Joe felt himself freeze up even as Gomamon flapped his wings to blow air onto her face, “Come on Palmon, wakey wakey, this is no place for a nap.”

There was a vampire right here in front of them and Joe felt every nerve in his body send a signal to his brain telling him to run. Vampires were monsters; they couldn’t be trusted and Joe had done his best to avoid them since he’d been bitten. He’d been very successful with the exception of Gomamon, but he was a bat so it didn’t feel like the same thing to Joe at all.

“Gomamon, let’s just get out of here; she could be dangerous,” he hissed, hating the way he was beginning to shake.

“Joe! She’s my friend!” exclaimed Gomamon, as he twisted to glare at him, “You can go if you want but I’m not leaving her. She might be hurt.”

Joe frowned, knowing that if she had been a normal human then he would have been clambering over himself in an effort to help her. He glanced down at the woman again; if Gomamon hadn’t said anything, he would have no idea that she was a vampire at all…

Palmon gave a tiny groan as Gomamon continued to fan her face and Joe felt his whole body stiffen as he watched her eyes begin to flutter open. Gomamon though, gave a relieved laugh before he fluttered up and around her face, “Palmon! It’s so good to see you again! Are you alright? What happened? How did you end up here? What can…”

Joe reached out and grabbed Gomamon, quickly gagging his friend to give her a chance to wake up gently and not immediately put her teeth in them. Gomamon was having none of it though and licked his hand. Joe was so disgusted at the feel of the rough tongue on his hand that he let go immediately and wiped his hand on his shirt with a grimace.

When Joe looked back, Palmon was blinking awake, her hand coming up to rub gently at her face before she slowly sat up, her dark green eyes staring into his. Joe felt the panic begin to race around his body, even if she was showing no signs of attacking. Who knew what kind of tricks she might try and play?

“I thought I heard…” she paused as Gomamon fluttered down excitedly so she could see him and her eyes widened and her hands came up to cover her mouth as she whispered, “Gomamon?”

Gomamon finally stopped fluttering as he landed gently on her leg, his teeth glinting in a grin on his rodent-like face, “Naturally you recognise this handsome face! How’ve you been, beautiful?”

Palmon covered her mouth delicately as she gave a small laugh, her eyes softening as she gazed at him, “I haven’t seen you in nearly 54 years…”

Joe felt his heart beat slow as he stared at the soft look Palmon was giving Gomamon; there was no way she would hurt them with a look like that. Or at least not Gomamon, and maybe since he was Gomamon’s friend he would be safe by proxy. Either way, he couldn’t leave Gomamon just to try and save his own skin, as much as his legs still cried out for him to move.

Palmon suddenly looked away, her brows furrowing as her hand clutched at the fabric of her dress, “You just disappeared…I thought you were dead…”

“I’m sorry,” replied Gomamon sounding more serious than Joe had ever heard him before, “But if it’s any consolation, I thought you were dead just now, what happened?”

Palmon blinked in confusion before her eyes widened suddenly as though all of the events previous to her accident had just rushed into her mind at once. “Mimi!” she exclaimed, ignoring the boys as she leapt to her feet and scanned the surrounding area. She called again loudly through the trees, her dainty hands cupping around her mouth like a megaphone, “Mimi!”

Gomamon fluttered in front of her as she took a step forward and stumbled, “Palmon, what happened? Maybe we can help.” Gomamon used his foot to gesture from himself to Joe, “We’re more than just handsome faces.”

Palmon turned to look at Joe, her frown making her worry clear before she looked back to Gomamon and exclaimed, “We were ambushed by a vampire hunter and got into a fight.” Palmon gestured to the burn marks on her arms, “He was too powerful and we couldn’t seem to get away from him. The last thing I remember was her apologising to me and then…nothing.”

Joe moved forward, his fear having dimmed enough that his need to help was currently stronger, and he saw the way Palmon’s body was beginning to shake and her voice beginning to squeak, “She must have knocked me out and hidden me before trying to get away but if she’s not here then that means he got her…”

Palmon let out a heartbroken wail and Joe waited for Gomamon to say something but for once it seemed like his friend had no words to offer so he felt the need to step up. “You don’t know that for sure,” he replied as logically as ever, not wanting all faith to be lost, despite the way he reminded himself that he shouldn’t care, “Unless you find her body, there’s every chance that she’s alive.”

Despite the tears streaming down her face, Palmon whispered, “You really think so?”

“Yeah,” chirped Gomamon, thankfully deciding to add his piece before Joe could, “If being a bat has been good for anything, it’s that I can track scents like a bloodhound so we’ll help you find her, no problem!”

“Oh, thank you so much!” she exclaimed as she suddenly threw herself into Joe’s arms. Joe felt himself stiffen immediately as her arms wrapped round him, all nerves ready and willing to run but he had to remind himself that she had been harmless so far and that was unlikely to change if she wanted their help.

Gomamon coughed and landed none too gently on Joe’s head, his claws grasping the hair in a way that made Joe give a small hiss of pain. Gomamon ignored him though and spoke, “We should probably start looking. Do you have anything that might smell of her?”

Joe rubbed his head as Gomamon hopped after Palmon as she searched in her bag for something. He frowned down at his friend, wondering what on earth had gotten into him. He watched as Palmon pulled a small handkerchief from her bag which Gomamon quickly stuck his nose into to try and get a scent. Joe really hoped that all this wouldn’t end up getting them killed…


	2. Chapter 2

“So, why were you two…” Gomamon paused to take a big sniff of the air before he flew forward through the crisp night air and continued his sentence, “out here anyway? Aren’t you part of a clan?”

Palmon nodded as she followed him anxiously, her head darting left and right regularly, as though afraid that the vampire hunter would return any minute. She rubbed the burn on her wrist again and explained, “We are but Mimi and I are travelling to the clan to the south right now to try and conduct peace talks…”

“Peace talks?” exclaimed Joe from where he was trailing unenthusiastically behind them. He couldn’t help the disbelief that flooded his voice at the prospect of these monsters trying to talk to each other. Surely they’d much rather just rip out each other’s throats. The one that had turned him into a vampire had certainly never considered more peaceful methods. Joe felt his stomach flip unhappily and he stared down at the ground, even as Palmon continued.

“My clan, the Ishida clan, has been at war with the Yagami Clan for years after we found one of our own murdered by one of theirs. Our leader sought revenge and the cycle has continued for so long that many of our clan fear leaving the mansion in case they wind up as the next casualty.”

Joe nodded; that sounded much more like the vampires he had come to loathe. When the bloodlust hit, even he was capable of unspeakable things and that was why he would never trust a vampire. That was why he wasn’t about to let Palmon out of his site, no matter how harmless she seemed.

“But then, where is your leader?” asked Gomamon as he veered to the right after the scent, “Shouldn’t he be the one conducting the peace talks?”

Joe nodded from behind them; Gomamon had a good point. What good were peace talks without the leaders?

Palmon gave a hum of uncertainty and was silent for a few moments as they continued to follow the scent along before she finally spoke, “Mimi tried to convince our leader to talk to the other clan and stop this war once and for all but he refused. He’s too lost in his grief and wants nothing more than to wipe the other clan out entirely…”

“I can’t be the only one that sees a flaw in your plan…” muttered Joe. Though he felt a strange relief that at least one vampire was acting how they should; murdering a whole clan of their own kind certainly seemed like something the bloodthirsty creatures would do.

“At least we’re trying!” exclaimed Palmon as she whirled around to him with such anger in her voice that Joe immediately gave a cry of alarm and tried to step back, only to get tangled in the undergrowth and land with a heavy thud on his backside. He winced and hurriedly looked back up, fearing the worst but Palmon didn’t look angry anymore, instead she just looked confused as to why he was on the ground.

“Sorry about him,” chirped Gomamon as he circled back round to land on Palmon’s shoulder, “He has issues.”

Palmon glanced at Gomamon and raised an eyebrow, “That’s not a very nice thing to say about a friend.”

“Maybe, but it’s true,” replied Gomamon before he gave a “Gah!” as Palmon gave him a tiny flick on the nose with her slender fingers.

“Mimi didn’t want anyone to get hurt, even if it meant putting herself in harm’s way, that’s why we’re out here, trying to make things better.” Palmon crouched down to Joe and held out a hand to him, “I don’t know what sort of vampires you’ve met in the past but neither me or Mimi would ever harm you.”

Joe blinked warily at her hand and felt a strange sense of shame crawl under his skin that he was coming across as quite so cowardly. He couldn’t deny that he was a coward. Even before he’d became a vampire, he’d been anxious about everything life threw at him; always expecting the worst things to happen to him every moment of the day. Becoming a vampire had only rewarded his anxieties for being right about how dangerous the world was and always would be.

But underneath his anxieties, he still yearned to help people. It was why he had begun training to be a doctor back when he was still a human. And it was why he kept away from everyone since he’d become a vampire, despite the soul-crushing loneliness. The only way he could help them was to stay away so he wouldn’t hurt them.

That was what he truly believed.

And yet, surely another vampire wouldn’t be in danger from his presence because even if he did lose himself to bloodlust, they could defend themselves from his pathetic attacks. So maybe this was finally his chance to help someone after all these years. Not only was this vampire seeking peace but she was friends with Gomamon, his sole companion and she and her captured friend only wanted to save the lives of their own companions.

It didn’t stop his hands from shaking though as he slowly reached out to take Palmon’s hand, allowing her to pull him up with a strength that gave away her vampire blood.

He released her hand and tried to muster up the courage from a moment ago to finally do something good with his worthless immortal life. “I’ll help!” he exclaimed, louder than he intended because of the nerves, “I’ll help you save your friend but then we go our separate ways.”

“Joe!” exclaimed Gomamon, looking scandalised that his friend was being so rude. Joe couldn’t help it though; regardless of how harmless Palmon seemed, he just couldn’t let go of the decades spent distrusting his entire race. He didn’t want to get involved in something more than he could handle, but saving one girl who only wanted peace was surely within his realm of capability.

“It’s fine Gomamon,” insisted Palmon as she glanced at him and raised a hand up to tell him to be quiet. She looked back to Joe and nodded, her expression remaining kind, despite the way her hands were clasping together shakily. “Mimi is the only thing that matters right now, so if you’re willing to help me rescue her then that’s more than enough.”

“Right, let’s hurry,” he agreed, not wanting to be the reason they didn’t get to the girl in time.

“The scent’s getting stronger, so we can’t be far,” explained Gomamon before he jumped from Palmon’s shoulder and took off once more but this time at a faster pace, leaving him and Palmon to run after him to keep up.

Joe felt his legs shaking as he kept pace with Palmon; this whole night was going to be classed under ‘Never Again’. He was glad to be able to help but neither helping a vampire nor going against a vampire hunter to save a total stranger were things that he would be eager to repeat.

Suddenly Gomamon came to a halt as the trees began to thin out and shushed Joe as soon as he went to ask why they stopped. Joe frowned but looked to where Gomamon was indicating to see light permeating through the trees. He squinted and crept quietly forward, with Palmon at his side and as the gaps in the bushes widened, they both spied a small mansion that would have looked abandoned of not for the light blaring out the windows. The gardens were an overgrown mess of weeds, the grasses growing so high that the path to the front door was obscured. Branches overhung the windows, dampening even the light and ivy wove its way through bushes and into cracks in the walls.

“This is the place,” whispered Gomamon from behind them, making Joe nearly jump from the sudden noise amidst the silence, “What’s the plan?”

“We’ll have to split up and try and avoid a confrontation.” Palmon turned to Joe and as if anticipating his arguments continued, “She’ll be kept around the back, away from people, so I need you two to draw him towards the front of the house whilst I sneak in and rescue her and then we all retreat.”

“Wait, you actually want me to bring the deadly hunter _towards_ me?” hissed Joe, trying to keep quiet despite the way his skin was beginning to crawl at the thought of being used as bait. Maybe he was right in his initial distrust after all…

“We have to get him away from Mimi or we won’t have any chance of rescuing her. And besides, you don’t have to stick around once you’ve got his attention,” she added, her face falling as though she was aware that she was slowly losing him, “You can just run and I’ll take it from there.”

“We’re not going to leave you!”

Joe felt his eye twitch at his friend; of course he wasn’t going to make this easy…

Palmon’s face softened slightly amidst the stressful situation as she looked over at Gomamon, who was fluttering backwards and forwards in an agitated fashion. “It’s not safe on your own,” he insisted with a frustrated growl.

“Gomamon, I’ll be fine,” insisted Palmon, shaking her head slightly.

“No. Joe can draw out the hunter and run but I’m going with you and then I can divert his attention if he comes back too soon. I won’t let you get hurt.”

Palmon was silent for a moment as she stared into Gomamon’s eyes, and Joe couldn’t help but feel like he had missed some sort of silent conversation when Palmon finally sighed, “Alright; you win. We’ll go with your plan.”

Joe was suddenly thankful that his heart didn’t beat anymore because if it did then he was sure he would have had a heart attack at the prospect of what he was about to do. And without Gomamon by his side too…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long; i don't have an decent excuse since i've got the story planned out and the first draft done so i'm just re-writing it. My motivation's low at the moment due to real life drama but even i'm dissapointed at how long it's taken to write this little...  
> Apart from the long gap, i hope you enjoyed and for anyone who's worried about how cowardly Joe seems in this version, he has reasons in this AU for acting like that which will be revealed as time goes on so don't give up on him yet. I aim to get the next chapter out alot quicker than this one :)  
> Next time on World's Worst Vampire - Joe meets Mimi and Palmon and Gomamon run into trouble, ooooooooooh.  
> Roxie x


	3. Chapter 3

Palmon crouched quietly underneath the window and glanced up at Gomamon who was peering carefully in the window whilst preening himself so that he wouldn’t seem suspicious. She tried not to smile at her old friend but considering how little he had changed in half a century, it was a tall order. Gomamon glanced down at her with a wicked grin that meant the coast was clear and Palmon felt an old familiar sensation in her stomach.

It seemed as though Gomamon wasn’t the only one who hadn’t changed in all their years apart.

She clenched her teeth together, savouring in the tiny pricks of pain as her fangs punctured the inside of her lips. She needed to concentrate right now. Mimi was in danger and she was the most important person in the world to her; she brought light and meaning to Palmon’s long immortal life and she didn’t dare to even consider what she would do if the hunter had killed her. She would certainly spend the rest of her life making sure the hunter paid for his mistake.

Palmon stood up and pushed gently at the small window, hiding a mutter of surprise when the window put up no resistance. She glanced at Gomamon, wondering if he was similarly suspicious of the unlocked window, but he seemed unconcerned as he gestured for her to hurry up and go in. She furrowed her brows but nodded none the less and quietly pushed the window so that it was fully open before she hopped up and into the room, landing gently on the carpeted floor.

Before Gomamon could even get a chance to fly in after her though, the windows slammed shut behind her with a deafening slam and she turned back to see that Gomamon was pushing his tiny body as hard as he could against the window but to no avail despite the terror in his eyes as he looked past her.

“My my, you sacrifice your friend to save yourself and still come right back to die?  How kind of you to save me the trouble of tracking you down…”

Palmon spun around at the sound of the voice and realised that she had never been alone in the room after all. There was a young man lounging on an armchair in the corner of the room, his body cloaked in various pieces of shimmering clothing. Palmon recognised the silver laced clothing and the long black hair tied back in a ponytail immediately; this was the vampire hunter that had ambushed them before. She took a step forward, intent on finding out where Mimi was but the man smirked and twiddled a small silver blade between his fingers, the glint of light flashing back into Palmon’s eyes stopping her in her tracks as she realised the precarious situation she was now in.

It had been a trap from the very start and she had just walked right into it…

\--

Joe stood and stared at the door to the mansion like it was the toughest obstacle he had ever faced in his life. His palms felt sweaty and he took a few seconds to wipe them on his shirt as his mind continued to stare blankly at the door.

Palmon and Gomamon had parted ways from him a few moments ago, leaving him to complete his part of the plan; luring the hunter away from the back of the house. He was going to die; there was no other way this could end…

He took a shaky breath, gathering his courage and knocked loudly on the door before he quickly ran back to the safety of the bushes. He ducked into the undergrowth, merging seamlessly into the darkness and watched the doors, waiting for the hunter to show himself but even after a full minute, there was no sign of any movement, even from what he could see through the windows.

He frowned, glancing round at the path that Palmon and Gomamon had taken but there was no movement. Could it be that they were still waiting for him to pull a bigger distraction? What more was he supposed to do without presenting himself for an easy slaughter? Why had he ever thought that helping would be a good idea?

He was able to hide the whimper that threatened to escape his mouth but it didn’t stop him from shaking as he dutifully returned to the giant door. This time instead of knocking, he pulled the handle down but unsurprisingly it refused to open. He growled and banged louder on the door and spun around, ready to dart to safety again when he heard the sound of a muffled scream.

It was incredibly quiet and even his sensitive ears could barely hear it but there was no mistaking the sound and before he could even process what he was happening, he had already rushed around the side of the building and towards the slowly increasing volume of a female scream before there was eerie silence.

Someone needed help and regardless of his fear, he was going to help them.

He passed by the windows, carefully looking in each one to try and locate them until he finally came across the relevant one. He immediately spied a woman being held up in the air by chains that dangled from her wrists. Her head hung limply and Joe gasped as he spied several deep indents in the woman’s arms that were slowly healing over, leaving only the marks behind. This woman was a vampire; that was the only explanation for her healing.

He quickly glanced around the room to try and work out what had harmed her but it soon became apparent when a line of silver vertical bars, that had been previously stationary by the ceiling, began to move towards the woman via some kind of machinery. The woman tried to struggle but within seconds the bars were touching her skin and she began screaming anew, her head rearing back to reveal a cloth gag in her mouth.

He registered the sound of crashing glass as he dove through the window, the feel of burning nicking his cheek as he brushed against the bars to tug at the chains and then suddenly he landed hard on the ground with the woman held tightly in his arms.

He hadn’t even thought; he had acted completely on instinct and somehow managed to do something right for once. He looked up at the machinery to see the bars returning back to their start position once more and felt horror dawning over him as he realised that this was a torturing device. This hunter didn’t want to kill vampires; he wanted to torture them. He felt sick…

He turned away from the bars and looked down at the woman in his arms and froze, as her gorgeous brown eyes stared into his.

This woman couldn’t be a vampire; she had to be a goddess… He’d never seen anyone so beautiful in his whole life…

She frowned at him and mumbled something around the gag as she did her best to sit up against his arms. He gave an embarrassed squeak that he had forgotten himself for a moment and quickly reached behind her head to undo the gag as he apologised, “Sorry!”

“We need to get out of here before he comes back,” were the first words out of her mouth as soon as the cloth was removed, her gaze boring into him in an effort to get him to understand the urgency, “And then I need to find my friend.”

“You’re Mimi, right?” he asked, hoping for Palmon’s sake that it really was her and not some other unfortunate vampire.

The woman blinked, her brows furrowing as she slowly replied, “How did you know?”

Joe smiled, glad to be the bearer of good news for once as he replied, “Your friend Palmon is the one who sent us on this rescue mission.”

Mimi’s eyes widened in recognition before suddenly the door slammed open, revealing a large figure dressed completely in black from head to toe. Even their face was covered, making them appear almost like a shadow. Joe heard Mimi give a gasp of alarm before she hissed, “Run.”

\--

Gomamon pushed at the window, the ice forming in his gut making his movements desperate and uncoordinated. He watched the hunter stand up and take a step towards Palmon, who simultaneously took a step back, wary of the blade that was twirling in his fingers.

How had he not seen the hunter in the room? He was sure he’d looked in every corner and yet the second Palmon had jumped in, the windows had slammed shut in front of him and he had appeared as if Gomamon had just not seen him until that moment. Had it been a trap all along and they’d fallen for it all because he hadn’t been cautious enough?

“I…I’m not scared of you,” hissed Palmon, her statement ruined by the stuttering as the hunter continued to step forward, his lips curling up in amusement.

“So it would seem,” he cooed in response, his smile only growing as Palmon unconsciously covered the burns on her arm.

Gomamon clenched his feet, the claws scraping into the brickwork. Palmon was in trouble and it was all his fault. He’d been glad to see his old friend and had decided to help her but it was more from his need for excitement than anything. He’d left his clan, and Palmon, all those years ago and he wasn’t ready to return to that place, for all the same reasons as back then.

He had never intended to put Palmon in danger.

Palmon gave a cry as there was a flash of movement and suddenly she was collapsed on her back on the floor, the hunter still advancing slowly like it was all a big game to him. Gomamon felt the anger burn deep inside him, hot like a fire. He couldn’t just sit by and watch her get hurt. Not after all she’d done for him.

_Then let’s be broken together._

“Palmon!” he screamed, her words from a lifetime ago echoing in his ears as he flew back and with a strength he didn’t know he possessed dived at the window with full force, leaving it to shatter into pieces with a piercing crash.

The hunter barely had time to look shocked in his direction before Gomamon was on him, his claws scratching the black haired pretty boy’s face with all the rage that had built up inside him. He hoped Palmon had the sense to be making a run for it whilst he had the hunter preoccupied but he had no time to turn and check as the hunter began to swing his blade up and around in an arc in an attempt to get him.

Gomamon managed to flutter back in time to miss the blade but then something hit him hard and he was sent crashing across the room to land hard on the ground. He gave a cry of pain at the awkward angle he had landed at but before anything else could happen, an alarm suddenly began blaring from the hunter’s pocket.

“Tch,” hissed the hunter as he pulled a device out of his pocket and spoke aloud, “Go deal with that.”

Gomamon wasn’t sure what the hunter was talking about until something seemed to speed out of the room, leaving the three of them alone. Palmon quickly ran to his side and picked him up, but Gomamon wouldn’t take his eyes off the hunter, whom he now knew was getting help from someone else, someone infinitely more dangerous, someone who was now no longer in the room.

He squeezed Palmon’s arm and hissed, “Run.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys; sorry again that this chapter took a while. Real life, eh? It always gets in the way of writing.  
> I'm introducing Mimi and the hunter in this chapter as well as a mysterious figure who aids the hunter. They'll all get more screen time in future chapters, especially the next one :3  
> I finally started writing from POV's other than Joe and I think it's important so everyone can see the journey that Gomamon and Palmon make in this story too as well as giving hints to their previous 'lives'. I love this story and i'm excited to share more of it with you guys.  
> I'll work hard on future chapters so please let me know what you liked/didn't like etc.  
> Roxie x


	4. Chapter 4

Joe was moving before he was even aware of the figure approaching, thanks to his quick vampire reflexes. He dove towards the window, Mimi still in his arms, in an attempt to get them outside but the figure was right behind them and grabbed him by his collar to yank him back.

The pressure on his neck stopped him moving instantaneously, but his previous momentum sent Mimi hurtling through the air to land with a hard crash and roll of the shattered glass. She gave a cry of pain and Joe had a moment to feel the guilt before he was picked up and hurled further back into the room. He landed hard and felt all the wind leave his body at once, leaving him spluttering for breath as the figure advanced once more and sent a foot so hard into his side that it sent him rolling into the nearby wall with enough force that Joe knew any normal human would never get up afterwards.

He felt the figure advance on him once more and desperately tried to get enough breath back into his lungs to respond as the pain blossomed all over his body. It only took another millisecond for him to become acutely aware that he would be dead soon enough. He was no match for this person, in either strength or speed.

What surprised him more than anything though was his dread at that thought because, despite how much he hated his life as a vampire, he wasn’t ready to die yet.

He really didn’t want to die!

*Whack*

Joe spun around just in time to see the figure pause, his black hood dented by a giant silver pole as the blood began to soak his clothing. The pause only lasted for a few terrifying seconds before he crumpled in on himself and collapsed on the floor, revealing a panting Mimi, blood spattered across her beautiful face as she clutched her burnt hands to her chest.

Joe felt the nausea return at the sight of the blood against her pale complexion, despite how much he tried to think of it like paint. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he realised, his nausea vanished as soon as the figure began to stir, his wound already beginning to heal despite its severity.

Mimi’s eyes widened at the movement, fear clear in their brown depths before she turned and began to flee towards the window surrounded by jagged glass. She glanced back as she raised a leg to climb out and frowned when she noticed he hadn’t moved.

“Come on already, he won’t be down for long.”

Joe blinked out of his stupor and scrambled up, quickly going round the twitching body on the floor before he jumped up and followed Mimi out of the window. He only hoped Gomamon and Palmon were waiting for them or things were going to get complicated.

\--

Palmon didn’t need telling twice and quickly spun towards the window, her hand reaching up to wrench what was left of the window pane away. But suddenly there was an explosion of pain as a silver blade landed in the back of her hand with a sickening crunch. She couldn’t help the cry of pain that escaped her lips as the burning pain rung through her body in relentless waves.

“One more movement and the next one goes through your neck,” said the hunter, his voice full of promise.

Palmon gulped but did as she was told, even as her hand shook in mid-air. She couldn’t die here; she still had to rescue Mimi and then she had to help their clans. She felt the vampire hunter walk towards her and tried to ignore the way the panic built in her gut at the fact she couldn’t see him. She was completely defenceless.

“Goodness me; such an overreaction when all I want is a little chat,” said the hunter, his voice uncomfortably close.

Liar! She grimaced at the pain still radiating from her hand but managed to reply, “You don’t want to chat, you want us all dead.”

There was a pause before the hunter gave a harsh bark of laughter, “Ha, you’re not wrong there. I definitely do want all you monsters dead.” The hunter stopped and Palmon could practically feel the air get colder as his voice became deeper and more malicious, “But you see there’s one I’m looking for in particular and if I kill you all then I won’t be able to track him down.”

Palmon opened her mouth to reply but the hunter carried on, his voice sounding oddly manic as he said, “If I don’t track him down then all my torture devices will be for nothing, which would be a shame considering the rigorous testing they’ve gone through.”

Palmon felt a shiver of dread run down her spine at the thought that he might have used one of them on Mimi before Gomamon suddenly sprung out of her arms and over her shoulder. She barely had time to process what was happening before the hunter was screaming in pain and Gomamon shouted, “Run already!”

Palmon wanted to help Gomamon but she knew if she wanted to be able to help anyone then she needed to get out of there before it was too late. She grimaced and reached up with her uninjured hand to grab the window  before pulling what remained of it down to shatter against the floor. She glanced back to see Gomamon right in the hunter’s face, dodging grab after grab despite the earlier injury to his wing. Gomamon was putting himself in harm’s way to try and keep her safe…

“Go!” exclaimed Gomamon as he glanced over and noticed that she was still there.

Palmon jumped quickly up to the window and pulled herself through, unable to hide the whimper at the blade wiggled painfully in her hand. She could hear the hunter’s angered cries behind her as she landed safely down on the grass before she took a deep breath and wrenched the blade out of her hand. Burning ran through her other palm and she quickly dropped it on the floor before Gomamon was out and flying above her.

“Let’s move!” he exclaimed, his rodent-like features screwed up in a grimace.

“But what about Mimi?” she exclaimed despite the way her body automatically moved to follow Gomamon around the building.

“We’ll have to regroup; we’ll never be able to save her if we just go crashing in there with that other creature helping him.”

Palmon felt her stomach drop at the prospect of leaving Mimi in the hunter’s hands, especially after he had mentioned torture devices. Mimi was probably in there somewhere right now in a lot of pain and it was all because she wasn’t strong enough to save her. She stopped as they rounded the mansion, returning to the front gardens. She couldn’t just run away and leave her best friend to such a horrible fate, no matter what happened to herself.

“I can’t just…”

Palmon’s words died in her throat as she spotted two figures running frantically from the other side of the mansion. She looked haggard and injured and scared but there could be no doubt as to who it was.

“Mimi!”

Mimi looked up and quickly steered herself in Palmon’s direction before grabbing her hand, a brief happy respite appearing on her features despite the way the blood smattered over her cheeks. “Palmon, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Joe stopped by their side, panic clear in every muscle of his body, “We need to get out of here now or he’ll catch up and then we’re goners.”

Joe’s words were punctuated by the sound of crashing from within the mansion and it was all the warning they needed before they took off into the forest, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

“Where are we going?” she asked Mimi, who was in the lead and had the look on her face of someone who knew exactly where their destination was.

“We need to get to the Yagami clan,” she replied with a shake of her head, “They didn’t start this war after all.”

Palmon’s eyes widened. Could that really be true? Was TK’s death really not the start of all this? But then, what was the start of it?

“What are you talking about?”

Their conversation was interrupted though as something whistled by her ear and she spied with horror a silver knife embedded into a tree as they ran past. She glanced back to see a figure clad completely in black racing after them and felt herself speed up in fear. This must have been who else was in the room with the earlier.

She noticed that the others quickly sped up too in a desperate bid to outrun this deadly killing machine. She only hoped he would tire quicker or they were dead for sure.

More dead than usual anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't apologise enough about the month and a half delay. I've been distracted and unproductive but i finally kicked my own ass into gear so hopefully it won't be as long until the next update.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as everyone escaped from the hunter. Next time they try to escape the hunter's creature and find their way into Yagami Clan territory.


	5. Chapter 5

How long had they been running and dodging the person chasing them? Realistically it probably hadn’t been long but to Joe it felt like hours had passed with the whole world closing in on him. His breath was coming in rasps as he willed his legs to keep going. It would only take one false step and the figure would be on them.

Fate seemed to hear him. Mimi, who was leading them, tripped on something and landed hard on the floor with a cry. The rest of them were running with such momentum that by the time they’d registered that she’d fallen and stopped to turn back for her, the figure had already grabbed her by the throat and was holding her high in the air as she kicked and struggled to break free.

Joe expected the figure to say something but he stayed eerily silent as his grasp seemed to tighten, leaving Mimi’s movements to become jerky as she struggled to make strangled cries.

“Mimi!” he exclaimed taking a step forward but before he could do anything, there was a rush of air and suddenly Mimi was on the ground as the figure was suddenly faced with two vampires who clearly had more fighting experience and ferocity than the rest of them combined.

They both looked young and Joe watched with a mix of fear and nausea as the boy with auburn hair pulled the figure’s arm back as though trying to dislocate it whilst a man with white hair and a leather blue jacket held him in a headlock.

“Mimi!” exclaimed Palmon, as she ran towards her friend who was trying to crawl away despite the way her eyes were screwed up in pain.

Joe ran forward too, guided by his blasted instinct to help again, despite the way everything seemed to spin as he got closer to the fighting that he didn’t want to be anywhere near. He grabbed one of Mimi’s arms whilst Palmon grabbed the other and between them they moved so that they weren’t anywhere near the fighting. Palmon stopped though, even as Joe wanted to keep moving.

“What if they’re part of the Yagami clan? We need to speak to them.” Palmon pointed out when it became clear that they were trying to drag Mimi in two different directions.

 “It might look like they’re winning now but if they lose then we’re the next targets so we should get as much distance between us as possible,” he replied, pleasantly surprised at his ability to make a reasonable argument even with the fear coursing through him.

“Joe’s right Palmon,” insisted Gomamon flapping down to perch on Joe’s head momentarily, “If those two don’t stop him and we hang around then we’re dead.”

Mimi coughed from where she was standing weakly between them, her throat no doubt still healing, and Palmon’s lips pursed as she glanced at her friend before she nodded resolutely, “Alright, let’s go.”

With that, Palmon and Joe helped Mimi up to her feet and the four of them tiredly sped through the trees once more. Trees that Joe realised were starting to lighten in warning of the approaching sunrise. They probably had around an hour before the sun came up and they were in even more trouble. Joe knew they needed to find somewhere to shelter but with the vampires on their tails he didn’t know that they would even have a chance to look.

“Where do you think you Ishida scum are going?”

Joe stopped dead in his tracks, the others coming to a halt beside him as they spied the two vampires that had stopped the mysterious figure only a moment ago, standing right in front of them. Joe tried to ignore the ways his knees shook in the knowledge that these guys had not only gotten rid of the guy from earlier but had also managed to get ahead of them. He gritted his teeth in frustration; they just couldn’t keep up the pace with how much they’d been running tonight.

“Wait!” exclaimed Mimi, her voice still hoarse from moments ago, “We don’t want to fight.”

The man with white hair took a menacing step forward, his face drawn in a practiced snarl whilst the auburn haired teen glared and replied, “Then you shouldn’t have trespassed into our land. Our clan is not your prey!”

“We don’t want to hurt anyone! This war has been concocted by a hunter who wants us to all kill each other!”

Joe watched as Palmon and the two Yagami clan vampires opened their mouths in shock; all aggression temporarily gone at the bold statement.

Mimi used the silence as a chance to continue, “We’re here to talk to your leader. We want an end to this war.”

The auburn haired boy blinked in confusion at her before his glare returned full force, and he snarled, “Why should I believe you after all your clan has done!”

Mimi frowned, her eyes shining with sadness and resignation before she bowed low, her hair falling off her shoulders as she exposed her neck to the vampires in total submission. Palmon quickly followed Mimi’s lead and when Gomamon hit Joe’s ear with his wing, he quickly followed suit too, albeit reluctantly.

“Please let me talk to your leader,” she pleaded again, “I don’t want anyone else to die, be it our clan or yours.”

Joe glanced up to see the boy’s aggression gone once more, his hand holding his chin as he thought through what Mimi was saying. The white haired man turned to his friend, clearly deferring to him for a decision. The boy scratched his head in frustration as the silence continued to stretch out before he sighed and admitted, “I don’t want anyone else to die either so if you can really stop this pointless war then I’ll take you to our leader.”

Joe stood up and found his gaze drawn to the look of relief spreading out over Mimi’s face. It made his skin tingle in a way that it hadn’t for a very long time and he found himself taking a step towards her. She was like a sunshine that didn’t burn and he found himself wanting to be nearer.

“I warn you though,” added the boy, tearing Joe away from his thoughts, “If you lay even a hand on my leader then I will kill all of you and then personally hunt down every single member of your clan.”

Joe gulped and proceeded to take a step back again. Vampires really were dangerous creatures.

\--

Palmon forced her legs to keep going, despite how much it felt like a trap, as they were led through a large gateway and into a sprawling garden area. She’d only just gotten Mimi back and she didn’t want anything to happen to her, especially when she still hadn’t gotten any explanation for what Mimi had told them in her plea to see the Yagami clan leader. Was what Mimi said really true? Was everything that happened concocted by that terrible hunter? She clutched at her hand, wincing slightly at the pain of the unhealing injury. There had been more to the hunter’s blades than just silver; he must have laced them with garlic or they would have healed by now. Just the memory of being trapped in his presence made a shiver run down her spine.

Gomamon must have felt it from where he was perched on her shoulder because he whispered, “Hey, take a moment to smell the flowers.”

Palmon blinked and looked away from the back of the auburn haired vampire that they were following, who had introduced himself as Davis, to look around her. Her eyes widened. Fruit trees adorned the edges of the fencing whilst the middle area was carefully sectioned into many flower beds, all full of flowers that brought a life to the place, especially as the sun was close to rising. Palmon felt a joy fill her at the sight of the beautiful plants. When she was a human, she had adored flowers and had grown a lot of her own but it was tough to help them grow when you could never be out in the sunlight. It was clear someone cared greatly for the garden if they were able to create such beauty despite the difficulties.

“There, you look better when you smile,” whispered Gomamon with a cheeky grin. Palmon gave an embarrassed cough as she felt her cheeks heat up. Gomamon had known something was wrong and even after all these years, he had remembered her love for plants. He had been gone for so long and yet he was able to slot back into her life like it had been no time at all. Didn’t he understand how much pain his loss had caused her?

Palmon’s thoughts were interrupted as Davis led them up the steps of the mansion and opened the door with an atmospheric creak. Palmon had little doubt that they kept the noise as a way to alert everyone of visitors.

Mimi, who was close behind Davis, was the first one of them inside the door but the second she took a step in there was a rush of movement as a woman was suddenly in front of Mimi, a silver blade held threateningly to her throat. Her thick yellow gloves and purple feathered earrings were the only colour amongst her white hair and dress that flowed around her.

“Get out, you murderous scum!”

Palmon gave a guttural cry of surprise, even as Mimi made no move to protect herself or even to suggest she was in pain despite the way the blade burned against her neck. She saw Joe step forward from the corner of her eye too.

Davis whirled around, looking furious at his clan-mate, as he grabbed her arm and pulled it away from Mimi’s neck, “Stop it! They’re here for peace talks!”

The woman wrenched her hand back and glared at Davis as she spat, “These scum don’t understand peace. Not after they killed…” Her strength seemed to stutter for a moment as she was overcome with emotion before she growled and began to scream, “They don’t deserve peace! I’ll kill every single one of them!”

And then she raised her dagger again…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter of the story; i hope you enjoy it. I'm trying to work harder this year to update regularly.  
> We get introduced to a few new characters here and I'm curious if anyone can guess who the woman is from just the description?  
> Anyway, thank you for reading.  
> Roxie x


	6. Chapter 6

This really wasn’t her day. Getting kidnapped by a hunter, tortured in ways that made her arms sear in memory, chased by the hunter’s lackey, her throat being crushed, and now a woman wanted her dead. All she wanted was peace but all she was getting in return was more pain than she had ever experienced. It made her want to cry. But she couldn’t; not if she wanted to convince everyone that she was serious about achieving peace. She couldn’t bear to keep losing her friends. So, for them, she would stay strong and keep the tears inside.

She watched emotionlessly, as though seeing this happen to someone else, already having accepted the pain at the cost of proving that she didn’t want to fight, as the woman raised the dagger.

But then suddenly she felt a tug on her arm and she was so caught off-guard that she couldn’t react as she was pulled quickly, landing with a soft thud against someone’s chest.

“Gatomon!” boomed a voice and Mimi blinked as the arms stayed wrapped around her back. She glanced up to see the boy from earlier looking over at Gatomon with a glare, even as the woman had frozen in place, her dagger still in the air at the shout from a moment ago. This boy had been the one who saved her before and here he was saving her again, even though she didn’t even know his name. It might not have normally impressed her, but she could feel the fear flying off him in waves. He was terrified and yet he was still trying to help her. A total stranger.

“This is the first time that peace has ever been mentioned between our two clans so I would thank you not to ruin that.” Mimi looked over to see a man with a thick head of brown hair standing at the top of a flight of stairs.

He was glaring down at Gatomon who looked furious to have been stopped. “We’ll only have peace when their clan is killed once and for all!”

The man’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Mimi noticed the way Gatomon flinched before the man spoke once more, “That is not for you to decide. Now, leave us.”

There was a quiet calm to his voice that convinced Mimi that this was the leader of their clan for sure. This was the man Mimi needed to convince and she found herself pushing the boy away as she tried to look stronger.

Gatomon let out a frustrated growl at the man’s words but with a last glare at Mimi, she swung around and stalked away, her dress flapping around her knees as she disappeared behind a doorway. Mimi heard Davis let out an audible sigh as Gatomon disappeared and followed as Davis led them properly into the entranceway. Mimi looked back up to the leader to see him descending down the stairs towards them, his eyes narrowed as if trying to decipher them. The silence was almost painful and when the leader finally stopped at the bottom of the stairs he spoke, “If you have nothing of use to say, then I will allow her to return and finish what she started.”

Mimi ignored the shiver that ran down her spine and nodded before she quickly bowed, showing her neck again in total submission. She hated being in this position; she could be killed in seconds but it was the only way they would trust her. True strength lay in the ability to show weakness. Leomon had taught her that before he…

She hurriedly spoke, not wanting to get caught in grief, “I understand; I just want all the killing to stop.”

There was silence for a moment before he said, “Then we have that much in common. My name is Tai.”

“My name is Mimi,” she replied dutifully, finally standing back up again.

Tai nodded at her before glancing back at the others and calling out, “Kari, come and help the injured one.”

Mimi blinked in confusion as she looked back at her friends. One of them was injured? Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Palmon clutching at a still bleeding hand. How had she not noticed that her best friend was injured? Palmon shook her head when she noticed Mimi’s face as if to insist that it was nothing but before she could say anything, a young woman with short brown hair walked gently between them and delicately picked up Palmon’s hand to have a look. Mimi could see the surprise on Palmon’s face before the woman spoke, “Come with me and we’ll get the garlic out so you can heal.”

Palmon looked at Mimi as if asking for permission and Mimi felt the guilt course through her. “Go, we’ll be fine.”

She watched as Palmon was led out of the room and was glad to notice that Palmon’s new bat friend didn’t seem inclined to leave her. At least she wouldn’t be totally alone.

“Agumon, Izzi, with me, the rest of you are not to interrupt us.”

Mimi watched as a previously hidden figure jumped down from the balcony to land effortlessly in a bow at Tai’s side. He was a young looking vampire; he looked no older than twelve but Mimi knew how little that meant in their world. He could be the oldest here and there would be no way to know. The boy was bald and wore an orange leather jacket and jeans, and as he stood to face them his green eyes seemed to pierce each of them in turn before he turned back round to Tai who began to make his way up the stairs towards another vampire with deep red hair.

Mimi turned to glance at the boy from earlier and noticed the way his lips were pursed together, his eyes darting back and forth along the balcony as if searching for the other vampires that Tai had spoken to. She frowned; maybe her earlier praise had been premature. This poor boy was totally out of his element and she wouldn’t be surprised if he was the first vampire in history to have a heart attack.

“You can go with Palmon if you want,” she whispered gently as she took a step towards the stairs so that she didn’t lose sight of Tai and the others.

He licked his lips and shook his head, his movements slightly jerky as he stepped after her and replied, “I don’t want to leave you alone with them.”

Mimi frowned, unable to understand what was going through the boy’s mind. He was scared out of his mind but he didn’t want to let her go into a meeting alone, even though he’d only met her a few hours ago. He really didn’t make any sense. She nodded none the less and turned back, quickly running up the steps to catch up with Tai and smiled as she heard the boy’s bumbling steps following her.  He really was a strange vampire. Leomon would have liked him…

\--

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Try not to freak out. I’m just in a room with three vampires with no obvious exits. And I have no energy left to defend myself, let alone the goddess next to me. What was I thinking?_

_Dammit…..I’m freaking out!_

“Alright, let’s start with introductions,” explained Tai, ignorant of Joe’s mental freak out, from where he was seated on a luxurious brown leather sofa in front of them. They’d been taken to a large room and had been sat down on a matching sofa, opposite Tai, for the meeting whilst Agumon and Izzi stood behind the sofa; one either side of him.

“As you know my name is Tai and I am the leader of the Yagami clan.” He gestured to the bald headed boy on his left, “This is Agumon, my right hand man.” Agumon nodded to them and Joe gave a jerky shake of his head back before Tai gestured to the other boy and explained, “And this is Izzi, my trusted advisor.”

“My name is Mimi and I am from the Ishida clan.”

With that out of the way everyone in the room turned to look at him and he suddenly wished the ground would swallow him up. He knew all he had to do was introduce himself but he felt like his tongue was twisted in knots. He glanced over at Mimi, hoping she could save him but instead she just looked disappointed and Joe knew that it was all his fault. She had told him that he didn’t have to come but he had thought he could help, and instead all he was doing was choking up over simple introductions, just because they were vampires. Vampires like him.

“My n…name is Joe,” he managed to spit out, “And I don’t belong to any clan.”

“Then what are you doing here?” asked Izzi, his eyes boring into Joe’s own. Joe flinched but thankfully Mimi jumped to his rescue this time.

“He rescued my friend and I from the vampire hunter,” she explained before steering the conversation back to the main topic, “the same hunter that concocted this war between our clans.”

All the eyes in the room returned their curious gazes to Mimi as she began to explain.

“When I was captured, the hunter decided to try and torture me mentally by telling me that he would use my body to get my clan to make a big move against you in revenge. I didn’t understand at first but luckily for me, he didn’t think I was going anywhere and explained everything.” Mimi paused for a moment and Joe watched as her lips trembled slightly, “He told me that he killed TK and framed your clan. The grief blinded us to the truth. He knew we would retaliate and he was right; this whole thing was a plan to get us to wipe each other out.”

Joe blinked; unsure what to think when he wasn’t personally invested in any of this. But then Agumon bared his teeth in a snarl and summarised, “So, it was your clan that started the war after all…”

Tai held up his hand and Agumon quickly let his face fall neutral once more before Izzi explained, “It does no good to point fingers now; the ones we have lost cannot be returned to us, no matter what we do.”

Tai nodded his agreement and Joe watched as Agumon twitched but showed no other signs that he was upset before Tai spoke again, “Did your clan leader send you?”

Joe glanced over but Mimi’s expression must have told Tai everything he needed to know because he frowned, “How can you be an envoy of peace if your clan leader didn’t send you? How can I guarantee that any deal you make will be upheld?”

“Once I return and tell him what I’ve learned, he’ll talk to you. He may be stubborn but he’ll listen to reason. Please, just agree to meet with him and we can finally stop this war once and for all!” exclaimed Mimi, her eyes shimmering with emotions that made Joe’s eyes widen. She looked so desperate. Like all of the world’s problems rested on her shoulders.

There was silence for a long minute before Tai stood up and replied, “The sun has risen so you should stay here until sunset and then return to your clan.”

Joe watched, saddened as Mimi began to deflate, the tears threatening to pour from her eyes. It made him realise that he had sold her short when he described her as a goddess. Yes, she was beautiful but there was so much more to her than that. She cared greatly for others and had a lot more strength than anyone he had ever met but she needed help sometimes too.

That was why he found himself speaking, against all his instincts, even though this war had nothing to do with him.

“Peace is not always easy but it’s worth it.” Joe watched as Tai paused from where he’d been retreating to the doorway and turned to look at him, “Good leaders understand that peace sometimes involves a leap of faith and I can tell you’re a good leader.”

“That’s a naïve view,” replied Tai, his gaze narrowing, “I won’t risk the lives of my clan for some far off dream of peace.”

“But it’s not a far off dream,” he exclaimed, taking a step forward despite the way he was shaking as he pointed at Mimi, “It’s right here, begging you to listen, willing to risk her life to fight for peace that no-one else seems to believe in. She’s gone through so much, just to get to you and you don’t even have the courage to try and talk it out. What a coward!”

When Joe finally stopped, there was silence as Agumon glared from Tai’s side, clearly unhappy that Joe was calling his leader names. The silence prickled at his skin and he wondered whether he had gone too far as Tai stared unblinkingly at him. Had he ruined Mimi’s hard work?

But then Tai turned his gaze to Mimi and said, “We will meet with your leader at midnight, the day after tomorrow, at Pine Meadow for peace talks.”

Wait…what? He’d done it?

“Thank you! I won’t let you down!” exclaimed Mimi and Joe turned to see tears falling down her face, but this time no doubt from relief. Mimi’s gaze met his and she smiled widely at him, her appreciation clear and he felt his skin tingle again.

He thought that would be it but then Mimi leapt up and jumped over to him, wrapping him in a big hug as she whispered, “Thank you so much Joe.”

“N…No problem,” he stuttered, awkwardly placing his arms around her back in a strange attempt at a return hug. He’d never really done hugs since he’d become a vampire. He hadn’t thought he’d missed it either, until now, thanks to Mimi. It seemed like she was doing all sorts of things to him and he wasn’t sure if it was really for the better. After all, it would hurt all the more when they finally parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)  
> Next chapter we see how Palmon and Gomamon are doing and learn a bit more about the war.  
> Roxie x


End file.
